38 EECENT FOREIGN EXPLORATIONS. 



somewhat uncertain on the highlands and it is necessary to resort to 

 irrigation, but apparentl}^ an abundance of water for most food crops 

 can be oljtained from wells. These highlands bear evidence of having 

 been cropped in former ages. 



Few nations are in advance of the Chinese in economic production 

 and in crop results along well-established lines of agriculture, but 

 they seem to be entirel}^ ignorant of modern methods of renovating 

 worn-out soils. Thousands of acres of land in the vicinity of large 

 cities, it was said, could be obtained of the Government either free or 

 at a nominal cost for renovation and cultivation. 



The almost entire absence of timber or woodlands in eastern China 

 was noted with surprise. The highlands and the mountains are com- 

 pletely denuded, with the usual result of alternate periods of great 

 drought and excessive rainfall. Grass and reeds are used for fuel. 

 During September thousands of men and women were cutting grass 

 from the sides of the mountains, coarse grasses in the untilled places 

 in the valleys, and the tall reeds on the Yangtze bottoms. These were 

 bound into bundles and sold for fuel. In cooking with this trashy 

 material one person is needed to feed the lire. In cities a common 

 fuel is coal dust, mixed with equal quantities of clay, made into balls 

 about 8 inches in diameter and dried. The Government does not 

 appear to be making any effort to restore the forests. 



An impressive feature of Chinese rural life is the apparent insecurity 

 of person and property. Every farmer has a compound, or high-walled 

 inclosure, into which stock is driven at night and in which are stored 

 the farm crops. Farmhouses of the better class are about 42 feet 

 square, and without windows in the outside walls. In the center of 

 each house is an open court, generally about 14 feet square, called the 

 "heavenly well," which admits air and light to the rooms. The houses 

 of the coolies or peasants are rarely more than 16 by 24 feet in size 

 and contain one room only, having no compound. Pigs and chickens 

 are driven into this room at night. The houses are one-story struc- 

 tures with adobe, brick, or stone walls, according to the cost of material, 

 with thatched or tiled roofs and clay or tile floors. There are no 

 fences; consequently the farm animals are herded. 



TILLAGE OF THE SOIL. 



In some provinces there is considerable hand tillage after the manner 

 of the Japanese, but generally oxen, cows, or buffaloes are used for 

 plowing. The plows are much like those used in India. They operate 

 like a single-tooth harrow slightly depressed from the horizontal, and 

 simply stir up the ground. No inversion of the soil is possible. On 

 the alkivial lands water buffaloes are generally used for plowing rice 

 fields, because they are plowed with water standing on them and 

 worked until a field of mud is secured. After the first plowing, high 



